Theme: Trade and Sustainable Development

Jonathan Djanogly MP attended the joint European Parliament/IPU Parliamentary Conference on the WTO in Bali, Indonesia on 2 and 5 December 2013 convened in connection with the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference.  As the UK’s representative among some 270 MPs participating, he joined counterparts in urging governments to place development at the heart of the multilateral trading system, taking into full account the special needs and interests of developing counties, particularly the least developed.  The meeting helped ensure parliamentary views were registered as WTO members successfully negotiated a new multilateral trade deal which is anticipated to add around $100 billion a year to global trade, potentially creating an additional 21 million jobs.

This Annual Parliamentary Hearing aimed to provide a parliamentary contribution to the on-going debate at the United Nations and in capitals on the development agenda after 2015, when leading development commitments are set to expire. Entitled Re-thinking sustainable development: the quest for a “transformational” global agenda in 2015, the Parliamentary Hearing was able to channel the views of parliamentarians directly into the UN’s deliberative process and build on the outcome of the 128th Assembly in Quito by considering the role of parliaments in the implementation of the new commitments for sustainable development as a universal agenda for both developed and developing countries.

The BGIPU, in partnership with the APPG on Trade out of Poverty, convened a briefing on 6 November by the Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, Minister of State for Trade and Investment, on the preparations for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial to be chaired by Indonesia in Bali from 3 to 6 December.  The briefing was chaired by the BGIPU Chairman, Robert Walter MP and participants from both Houses had the opportunity to discuss key challenges and expected outcomes with Lord Green who will also be one of the Vice-Chairs (along with counterparts from Peru and Rwanda)  of the Bali Ministerial.

The Steering Committee meeting was held in Brussels in the European Parliament, who co-host the Parliamentary Conference with the IPU.  The prime purpose of the Meeting was to prepare for the Bali Ministerial Conference in early December 2013.